Strategem
The various rules of strategem employed by Flynn. The rule priority is interchangeable: *The best war is one you never have to actually fight. *1) Always fight your enemy on your battlefield, never theirs. Your familiarity is your advantage. **1a) It's better to fight on a battlefield you're both unfamiliar with than one only your enemy is familiar with. *2) Always overestimate the enemy. That way, if you do overestimate your enemy, you're better prepared than they are, and if your estimate is accurate, you're adaqeutely prepared. *3) Use the most minimum of force to achieve your objectives. Not only will you reduce your own potential losses, but your enemies and civilians alike will appreciate your precision, and your precision will become a feared thing. **3a) If you must use force, make it large, make it sudden, as if from out of nowhere. The sudden appearance of a very large force would be sufficient to demoralise and throw an enemy into chaos at the incalculably sudden response, causing panic and the inability to mount a counter-defence. Seeing such a large, sudden force might be sufficient to make the enemy immediately surrender without a shot fired (preserving both yours and his men), and even if they opt to fight, they be so demoralised their defence ineffective. *4) Never strike from the same place twice. Your enemy will grow wise to your tactics. *5) Never leave a man behind. Do what you can to save him. Don't however expend more resources than necessary (it is pointless sending 100 men to their deaths to save 1 man). Treat each man as if they were you: you may see an unexpected opportunity from their position. It will also boost their morale knowing their commander cares. *6) The commander should be the first on the battlefield. If the prospect seems untennable or unnerves him, then the plan is flawed and should be revised. *7) Don't draw attention to yourself. Let your enemies think you're a weak or uninteresting target. Chances are they will turn on each other. *8) Be honest with your enemies. '''The concept of an honest enemy will baffle them and disarm them, you may even win their trust. But it also allows you to predict their responses because nothing is hidden from them and thus you don't have to guess what they have learned. **8a) '''Be honest with your plans. '''Your enemy will assume that naturally you are lying and will try to look for the 'true' plan. If they find out it's truthful, it will further baffle them, leading them to suspect some ulterior motive and becoming even more paranoid. If they realise it's true and there is no ulterior motive, their response will be a predictable one. Once they get used to you being truthful, you can change tack and then back again. **8b) '''Be honest about pointing out the flaws in your enemies' defences. At first your enemy will think you are lying, figuring you're only making up a flaw, only to find that the flaw exists and becoming baffled as to why you'd point it out. They will search for an ulterior motive, expending resources, and become paranoid. Eventually they will try to fix the flaw but going to great lengths not to use the solution you proposed (thus wasting time and resources). Eventually they will have fixed the flaw and expended resources doing so. Your goal is to make them fix so many flaws as to overstretch and overexpand their resources. To your enemies, it will seem like arrogance and that you are better than you actually are, to your allies you will appear stronger, able to point out flaws in your enemies' plans. A better defence is a better challenge and thus you will learn more from it (and how they adapt to their flaws). You may opt to strike whilst they are busy fixing the flaw to throw them off-guard. *9) Treat your enemy with kindness and care. '''Their people will have little reason to hate you if you treat them well (don't bribe them, as it seems cheap and petty), your enemy will find it difficult to oppose you, and if any of their men are captured, they will have little reason to resent you or their experience, having come away treated well. Some may even assist you as a result. Don't let them take advantage, however. *10) '''Treat war with professionalism. Keep it as impersonal, a seeming matter of business, although care heavily for the people. Do not stir up emotions with rhetoric (emotions present confusion), and do not treat your enemy as a grudge lest a divide be entrenched, he is just another man doing his job. Eventually your enemy may come to respect your matter-of-fact war and having viewed your eagerness to care for your men and his men and for the people, may opt to choose peace.